The power of planning
Photo by NURR
You should always have a plan when you are going to spend money. Consider just three areas where we regularly save by planning.
Groceries. Planning the meals to cover a week or two weeks will help you stick to a budget. Instead of buying food on impulse, you can plan each meal ahead and get the necessary ingredients. You should also make sure that you check the levels of household cleaners and toiletries. Avoiding an extra trip to the store will bring down the chances of an impulse purchase.
Entertainment. Everyone likes to get out and have fun. If you really need to get out once in a while, plan an inexpensive night out. Set the amount you will spend and stick to it. If you use cash only, you will be more inclined to stick to budget.
Major purchases. You can save a fortune if you explore your options. When looking for a car, furniture or major appliances, there is much room for error. Think about quality. It might not be the best choice to buy the cheapest thing out there, because it may not last as long. Check the consumer ratings on the brands you are considering. You don’t have to pay top dollar, but cheap isn’t the way to go with certain things.
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Planning really is the key to keeping to a budget. I must confess though that I do not plan meals before going to the grocery store. As a pantry or staple item is running low I write it on my grocery list. Then at the store I look for marked down meats and sales to fill in the rest. I stock up when there is a really good mark down.
Great list! I especially have to agre with meal planning. It saves so much money to know what you need to buy before going to the store. Even better if you can meal plan around sales so that you get the best prices for what you need.
I confess to the same strategy that Stephanie uses — I haven’t been able to make myself plan out meals day by day, but I do carry a plan in my head of what I am likely to cook over the course of two weeks, so I shop for needed staples to make those meals, or variations on them, possible. We used to live in England, where we had no car and I shopped on foot daily, because I could only buy what I could carry home and store in a small flat . . . it’s taken me YEARS to escape that mindset, but we’re getting there.
Instead of going out to movies or even subscribing to Netflix, we use the $1 movie rental thing at the grocery store for entertainment. The catch is that you have to remember to take the movie back the next day, or it ends up costing a lot more than a dollar, but for a family of six, that’s ended up being our most reliable entertainment treat.